The Taliban say the Afghan Haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, has died after years of ill health.

This picture taken on April 2, 1991 shows Afghan commander Jalaluddin Haqqani (C) with two top guerilla commanders Amin Wardak and Abdul Haq at his Pakistani base in Miranshah.
(AFP)

Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the militant Haqqani network, one of the most powerful groups in the Afghan insurgency, has died after a long illness, the Taliban announced on Tuesday.

Haqqani, who founded the network in the 1970s, relinquished operational leadership of the group some years ago to his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is now deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban.

Haqqani rose to prominence as a guerrilla leader in the US-backed campaign against Soviet-occupied Afghanistan but later allied himself with the Taliban, fighting American troops after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

TRT World spoke to Imtiaz Gul from Islamabad's Centre for Research and Security Studies, for more details.

Terrorist organisation

Haqqani's group became known for complex, well-organised attacks on both Afghan and US military as well as civilian targets and high-profile kidnappings.

The Haqqani network was declared a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2012.

US and Afghan officials have said the group, based in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, operated with the support of Pakistani intelligence services.

That charge is rejected by Pakistan, which has pointed to the network's early links to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

With Sirajuddin Haqqani in operational charge, it was not immediately clear what direct impact Jalaluddin Haqqani's death would have on the insurgent movement.

The Taliban statement said he had been ill and bedridden for several years.

Haqqani had not been heard from in several years, and reports of his death had been widespread in 2015.